With Thornwood protecting a fourth-quarter lead in Friday’s Lincoln-Way East sectional final, the Thunderbirds put the ball right where they wanted it–in the hands of senior guard Eric Gray.
Gray scored 18 of his game-high 30 points in the final period, including 13 free throws in 14 attempts, as Thornwood won its third straight sectional title with a 69-54 victory over Rich Central.
“We put a lot of emphasis on getting him the ball in the fourth quarter,” said first-year Thornwood coach Bob Curran. “I tell him all the time, and when there was a timeout I called him over and reminded him, `You go get the ball.’ He’s the man.”
Gray was the man early, too, as he hit two quick three-pointers to give Thornwood (24-5) an 8-2 lead less than three minutes into the contest.
“I was trying to come back after playing a terrible game Tuesday [eight points in a 63-46 victory over Hillcrest],” Gray said. “I wanted to have a good start.”
The fast start allowed the Thunderbirds to enjoy a double-digit lead for most of the second and third quarters before Rich Central (20-9) made things interesting. The Olympians, who were mostly unsuccessful switching between a zone and man-to-man defense for the first three quarters, went to a full-court press to start the fourth period.
Fred Washington and Jimmie Miles (27 points) converted thee-point plays to begin the quarter, and after the two teams traded baskets, the Thornwood lead was 46-38 with 6 minutes 27 seconds to play.
However, Thornwood’s Cordell Liggins converted an uncontested layup after the Thunderbirds easily broke the press, and after a Rich Central miss, Gray buried a three-pointer for a 51-38 lead with 5:40 left. The lead never dipped below double digits again.
“We prepared for every type of defense,” Curran said. “We have played against so many different teams this year, there’s no defense we haven’t seen.”
Gray’s effort at the free-throw line helped Thornwood shoot 18-of-26 from the line in the fourth quarter and 25-of-40 overall. Rich Central committed 26 fouls, 18 of them in the final period.
“We switched defenses because Gray burned us early,” said Rich Central coach Glenn Hefferman. “But we didn’t have that much success with any of them.”
Geremie Allison added 10 points for Thornwood.
